Michael Abels

Michael Abels (born October 8, 1962) is a composer/producer best known for his scores for writer/director Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning film Get Out, and highly anticipated follow-up Us, for which Abels was awarded "Discovery of the Year" at the 2019 World Soundtrack Awards. Abels’ score for US was also shortlisted for the 2020 Oscars, received a Critics' Choice nomination, an NAACP Image Awards nomination, multiple critics’ awards, and was named “Score of the Decade” by online publication The Wrap. As a concert composer, Abels has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet The Composer, and the Sphinx Organization, among others. His orchestral works have been performed by the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and many more. As guest conductor of GET OUT IN CONCERT, Abels has led orchestras including National Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony. Several of his orchestral works have been recorded by the Chicago Sinfonietta on the Cedille label, including Delights & Dances and Global Warming. Abels is co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, game and streaming media.

Abels’ first ballet, FALLING SKY, commissioned by Butler University, premiered on February 6, 2020. Upcoming projects include a diverse mix of concert work, film, and an opera. Following its Toronto International Film Festival 2019 premiere, the Hugh Jackman film BAD EDUCATION will premiere on HBO on April 25, with the soundtrack set to be released through WaterTower Music. A concert piece, AT WAR WITH OURSELVES, on a poem by National Book Award Winner Nikky Finney for the Kronos Quartet, will premiere on May 9th and 10th at SFJAZZ. OMAR, an original opera on the life of Omar ibn Said by Rhiannon Giddens and co-composed with Abels, will premiere May 22nd at Spoleto Festival USA, with Jamez McCorkle in the title role. The film ALL DAY AND A NIGHT, from Black Panther scribe Joe Robert Cole, will stream on Netflix from July 30th. A suite of Abels’ film music will be performed at the World Soundtrack Awards on October 24th at the Gent Film Festival. LA Opera will perform GET OUT IN CONCERT, at the Ace Theater in Los Angeles on October 30th and 31st.

Early life

Abels was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He spent his early years on a small farm in South Dakota, where he lived with his grandparents. Introduced to music via the family piano, he began showing an innate curiosity towards music at age 4.[1] His music-loving grandparents convinced the local piano teacher to take him on as a student despite his age. At age 8, Abels began composing music, and by age 13, his first completed orchestral work was performed.[2]

Upon graduating from high school, Abels attended the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles. Abels, who is mixed race, eventually studied West African drumming techniques at California Institute for the Arts, and sang in a predominantly black church choir to further explore his African-American roots.

Filmography

Composer

Additional music

Awards and nominations
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
2020 51st NAACP Image Award "Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album " Us Nominated
2020 Critics Choice Awards "Best Score" Us Nominated
2020 Black Reel Award "Outstanding Score" Us Won
2020 Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Award "Best Music" Us Nominated
2020 Music City Film Critics' Association Award (MCFCA) "Best Score" Us Nominated
2020 North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) "Best Music" Us Nominated
2020 Online Film & Television Association, OFTA Film Award "Best Music, Original Score" Us Nominated
2020 Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards "Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film" Us Nominated
2020 Austin Film Critics Association Awards "Best Score" Us Nominated
2020 International Film Music Critics Award "Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film" Us Nominated
2020 Central Ohio Film Critics Association "Best Score" Us Won
2020 Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Award "Best Original Score" Us Won
2020 Georgia Film Critics Association "Original Score" Us Nominated
2020 Gold Derby Awards "Original Score" Us Nominated
2020 Hawaii Film Critics Society "Best Original Score" Us Nominated
2020 Hollywood Critics Association "Best Score" Us Nominated
2020 Houston Film Critics Society Awards "Best Original Score" Us Nominated
2020 Online Film Critics Society Awards "Best Original Score" Us Won
2019 Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award "Best Original Score" Us Won
2019 World Soundtrack Awards "Discovery of the Year Us Won
2019 Indiana Film Journalists Association "Best Musical Score" Us Won
2019 Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards "Best Score" Us Nominated
2019 Chicago Film Critics Association Award "Best Original Score" Us Nominated
2019 Phoenix Critics Circle "Best Score" Us Nominated
2019 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards "Best Original Score" Us Nominated
2019 Hollywood Music in Media Awards "Best Original Score- Horror Film" Us Won
2019 Fright Meter Awards "Best Score" Us Won
2018 International Film Music Critics Awards "Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film" Get Out Nominated
2018 Black Reel Awards "Outstanding Score" Get Out Won
2017 Fright Meter Awards "Best Score" Get Out Nominated
2017 World Soundtrack Awards "Discovery of the Year" Get Out Nominated
2017 International Online Cinema Awards "Best Original Score" Get Out Won
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References
  1. De Lerma, Dominique-Rene. "African Heritage Symphonic Series Vol. III". Liner note essay. Cedille Records CDR066.
  2. "Michael Abels: Biography". Kennedy Center. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
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